Apr 7, 2014 – Nicotine Poisonings

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Nicotine poisonings are up by an alarming 300% over last year’s data, the CDC has reported. Enid Neptune, a lung expert at Johns Hopkins, says this is directly related to the entry of e-cigarettes to the market.

NEPTUNE: The spectrum of nicotine overdoses and poisonings changed directly because of the emergence of the e-cigarette situation, and that’s because we have access to liquid nicotine. This availability of liquid nicotine has interfaced with the media wars that are attached to these cigarettes so we have the problem of misinformation and the availability of this toxic substance, that makes it much more likely to cause poisonings. :32

Neptune says the refills for these products have been misused or obtained by children and ingested, resulting in at least one fatality. Such poisonings are projected to increase again by several hundred percent as long as liquid nicotine remains available. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.